Body odor is most commonly caused by fatty acids on skin and by malodors from microbial sources. The human skin is naturally populated with numerous micro-organisms which are nourished by various skin secreted substances (eccrine and apocrine sweat, and sebum), skin cell debris, breakdown products of the skin and the organisms themselves. These unpleasant body odors are mainly organic molecules which have different structures and functional groups, such as amines, acids, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, phenolics, polycyclics, indoles, aromatics, polyaromatics, etc. They can also be made up of sulfur- containing functional groups, such as, thiol, mercaptan, sulfide and/or disulfide groups.
Numerous attempts have been made to control or absorb body odors. Attempts have been made to deprive the microbials responsible for body odor of the moist/humid environment they need to proliferate and grow. Such efforts include the use of powders and/or antiperspirants. Body powders often are undesirable as they may be difficult to apply and may rub or fall off onto clothing. Antiperspirants are not always preferred in a body odor control product since, when used over the entire body, they may interfere with the body's thermal regulatory process by inhibiting perspiration through the action of astringent salts. Additionally, such salts may be irritating to a large number of users, particularly when applying them to sensitive areas such as the pelvic region.
Other deodorant compositions aimed at combating/controlling odor associated with skin secretions, which have been described in the chemical and cosmetic literature, include emulsion sticks or suspensoid sticks, aerosols, roll-ons, pads, pump sprays, and even soap bars. These known deodorants attempt to control odor through a variety of means. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,525,331, to Betts, issued Jun. 11, 1996, discloses compositions which inhibit the growth of micro-organisms in the body-secretions. Deodorants may also include antibacterial compounds which help destroy/control the amount of bacteria present on skin, thereby minimizing odor produced via bacterial metabolism of skin secretions.
Zeolites are known odor absorbers. However, these solid odor absorbers, in addition to known activated charcoal odor absorbers, lose functionality when wet. Therefore, when wetted by body fluids or when carried in an aqueous solution, these odor absorbers are not preferred as they lose their desired odor absorbent characteristics. Furthermore, zeolites can cause "harsh" feel if too much is deposited onto the skin.
In addition to the aforementioned attempts at controlling and/or absorbing body odor, numerous attempts have been made to mask body odors with other odors or perfumes. However, perfumes are often inadequate at fully concealing body odors and may be irritating to the user when used alone for control odor.
Thus, there remains a need for safe and effective methods of reducing body and/or vaginal odor using a perfumed, odor absorbing composition which is essentially free of s astringent antiperspirants and which is capable of absorbing a broad spectrum of body odors that are not fully suppressed by the aforementioned means. It has been discovered that such enhanced body odor control can be safely provided to the entire body by application of a composition, which is left on the skin, which incorporates odor absorbing, uncomplexed cyclodextrins into an aqueous solution. Surprisingly, it has been discovered that perfume compositions may be added to the above-mentioned compositions without defeating the body odor absorption utility of the uncomplexed cyclodextrins. Furthermore, it has been discovered that the combination of cyclodextrin with low levels of antimicrobials provides optimal body odor absorbing characteristics. It has also been discovered that a particular advantage of the present invention is the ability to provide convenient, non-irritating odor protection when applied to occluded skin areas such as the pelvic region, the external vagina, the panty-line, the bra-line, and skin-folds, which may be very sensitive.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent from the detailed description which follows. All percentages, ratios, and parts herein, in the Specification, Examples, and Claims are by weight unless otherwise stated. The term "g", as used herein, means gram. The term "ml", as used herein, means milliliter. The term "wt", as used herein, means weight.